The subject of this patent application relates generally to coin banks or “piggy banks,” and more particularly to a coin bank configured with a removable internal light source and one or more openings in the coin bank so as to selectively provide an aesthetically-pleasing night light.
The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Applicant(s) hereby incorporate herein by reference any and all patents and published patent applications cited or referred to in this application, to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
By way of background, “piggy banks” date back centuries, long before such coin banks were fashioned as the “pig” animal. Traditional etymology ascribes the term “piggy bank” as being derived from “pygg pots” or “pygg jars,” containers of various shapes used to store coins and made from “pygg,” an orange-colored clay commonly used in the Middle Ages. Over time, as essentially a “play on words,” “piggy banks” or coin banks fashioned in the form of a “pig” became popular, particularly for use by children. Today, such piggy banks are usually made of ceramic or porcelain but have evolved to be configured in a virtually infinite variety of forms and designs fashioned from a number of different materials, all such banks still often being referred to as “piggy banks” or “penny banks” or “money boxes,” whether shaped as a pig or box or storing coins other than pennies. Such coin banks or “still banks” typically are formed with an outer wall and hollow interior, with a single slot somewhere near the top that communicates through the outer wall with the interior space and then a plugged opening somewhere in the outer wall near the bottom for selective removal of coins from the bank.
More recently, additional functionality for piggy banks or coin banks has been proposed, ranging from the incorporation of sophisticated counters and related displays to clocks and thermostats to lighting of various kinds. Regarding lighting, all known instances generally involve external lighting in the more traditional sense of an area or desk lamp or particular external lighting configured for illumination of other functional aspects of the bank, to serve an aesthetic effect consistent with the bank's ornamental design, or for alternative function of the bank as a flashlight, for example. In all such known configurations, and even if a light may be included internally, the lighting assembly is integral with the structure and electronics of the bank itself and not separable therefrom or self-contained, nor is the outer wall of the bank formed with selective openings for the passage therethrough of an internally-emitted light for an improved aesthetic effect. It is therefore desirable to provide and has heretofore been unavailable a more universal coin bank night light that conveniently may be removably engaged with a number of coin banks and thereby provide improved function and aesthetics.
Aspects of the present invention fulfill these needs and provide further related advantages as described in the following summary.